But it's unclear whether Kickstart can find a niche among its target audience. For starters, 18- to 24-year-olds are increasingly choosing to drink coffee, rather than caffeinated sodas, according to new survey data from NPD Group.

And while PepsiCo said it doesn't consider Kickstart to be an energy drink, the company might find itself wading into a controversy over the safety of the caffeine-laden beverages. One of those, 5-Hour Energy, has drawn the attention of the Food and Drug Administration after being linked to deaths and serious injuries such as heart attacks.

For its part, Pepsi maintains that Kickstart isn't an energy drink, and contains less caffeine than drinks such as Monster (NASDAQ:MNST). Nevertheless, it's clearly aiming to connect to the audience of energy drink fans: young, active consumers.

The company is pitching the drink as fuel for people "catching the first waves at sunrise, managing bumper-to-bumper traffic on the way to the office or hitting fresh powder on the slopes at first light."

It's not the first Pepsi product targeted for breakfast. Remember Pepsi A.M.? The soda included 28% more caffeine per ounce than the original soda. After failing to generate consumer buzz, it was discontinued in 1990, just a year after it was introduced.

Kickstart will hit shelves on Feb. 25.

Editor's Note: This story by Aimee Picchi was originally published on MSN moneyNOW.